Development and Reliability Improvement of Ferroelectric FinFETs for Emerging Memory and Neuromorphic Applications (ReFinE)

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Johannes Heitmann; Dr. Maximilian Lederer
• Subject Area: Electronic Semiconductors, Components and Circuits, Integrated Systems, Sensor Technology, Theoretical Electrical Engineering
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 546743543

Recently, doped HfO2-based ferroelectric technologies attract a lot of attention from research and industry due to the CMOS compatibility and the excellent ferroelectricity with scaling thickness <10 nm. Based on HfO2 ferroelectric films with different dopants like Zr, high performance ferroelectric-based devices, such as FeRAMs, FeFETs and negative capacitance FETs, have been demonstrated, which achieve ultra-low power consumption and fast-sweep operations. However, reliability and variability of the devices is still of research interest. In this project, ferroelectric material integration into finFET devices, combined with the development of advanced electrical defect characterization will be used to address reliability characterization and improvement. In addition, a new atomic layer etching approach applied in situ before atomic layer deposition of the ferroelectric material will be developed to further engineer the interface and dielectric properties of the devices. This project involves the collaboration between Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF) and Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (Fraunhofer IPMS) in Germany, as well as National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) in Taiwan. The project sets ambitious development goals in three objectives. The first one is the development of ferroelectric bulk and SOI FinFETs for emerging memory applications. For memory applications the target is to achieve a memory window exceeding 1.5 V and an endurance surpassing 107 cycles. This goal addresses the critical need for improved memory storage devices, offering higher efficiency and longer lifespan. The second application targeted is neuromorphic computing. Ferroelectric bulk and SOI FinFETs will be fabricated with the aim of achieving over 90% efficiency in image recognition tasks. This aligns with the growing field of neuromorphic computing, which mimics neural networks for advanced computational tasks. As a third goal an intensive collaboration between TUBAF and Fraunhofer in Germany as well as NYCU in Taiwan will be set up. Each entity brings distinct expertise to the table, ranging from advanced interface and materials characterizations to state-of-the-art processes for FinFETs and ferroelectric gate stack deposition. This synergy is pivotal for the holistic development and optimization of these advanced semiconductor devices.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Taiwan
• Partner Organisation: National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Tian-Li Wu